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What to do with PIAA's

I just got a set of PIAA 1100x driving lights for my 2007 1200rt. My question is - How are you guys mounting these up? What are you using for brackets? Where are you putting them - fork legs or under the radiator, etc? What are you doing with the switch? Any help would be appreciated..

You want to creat a triangle with the headlight being the top of the piramid then your piaa's the bottom two corners of the triangle.Try and make them as far apart as you can.The brackets are another thing.

Brewmeister is absolutely right. The other advantage of doing this is it reduces the amount of "back scatter" that your eyes have to deal with.

Can you mount them on the fork legs? That will give you a good triangle of light with quite a bit of distance between the headlight and the DLs, as well as allowing directional aiming of the lights when turning, walking, etc.
fwiw- in 10 years of using my PIAA 1100Xs mounted like this, i have yet to have a car pull out in front of me.

I have a set of Hellas mounted like Bikerfish on my R1150R with yellow bulbs. When those things are on, EVERYBODY sees me coming. I usually us them in fog, rain, and congested areas. If I am following someone I usually turn them off. No one has ever pulled in front of me when they are on.
I put them on the bike just to make me more obvious to traffic.

Mine used to be mounted under the front grill but not a lot of separation and they occasionally hit the fender. Removed the roundels at the side and the PIAAs fit there quite nicely, as well as creating a larger triangle.

I just got a set of PIAA 1100x driving lights for my 2007 1200rt. My question is - How are you guys mounting these up? What are you using for brackets? Where are you putting them - fork legs or under the radiator, etc? What are you doing with the switch? Any help would be appreciated..

Under the mirrors. The higher you install the lights, the more illunination you get from them. The mounting brackets are from BMR.

I have a couple GPSs on a BMR Shelf. I mounted the switch where it's out of my line of sight but easy to reach behind one of the GPSs.

I want to carry a spare bulb

The X1100's that came with my bike are great, no complaints. I have a modulator on the headlight already that coupled with the ....gracer green color (EEK !) gets me noticed fairly well I believe. I am adding additional rear lighting, and am going to probably keep the PIAA's on full time during the day.

I want to keep a replacement bulb for the PIAA. Is factory replacement the only best replacement or are there "just as good" replacements at a good price. I'm not interested in cheapest price out there. I am trying to carry good quality bulbs on the bike that will give good candlepower and longest life for the price

I've purchased the ES-18004 bulbs from these guys http://harringtonlights.com/Glass/mr16_solux_lamps.htm in the past. They say about 3000 hours. I seem to get about 40K miles out of them- they are on pretty much all the time.you'll need an o-ring to get them to seat properly in the PIAA housing. Got my o=rings from McMaster-Carr online.They are not quite as bright as the PIAA bulbs... but at around 1/3 the price... well, I can live with that. I'm running HIDs as my primary lights, so these are more about conspicuity than they are vision. I do not bother carrying a spare with me, just not worth the hassle. ymmv.

I just got a set of PIAA 1100x driving lights for my 2007 1200rt. My question is - How are you guys mounting these up? What are you using for brackets? Where are you putting them - fork legs or under the radiator, etc? What are you doing with the switch? Any help would be appreciated..

I'll "cabbage" onto this thread(yes, I know it's an old thread but these are commonly asked questions!) with information & answer to the question above with: I have a new PIAA switch #30034 & PIAA relay #Pl5fb for sale. PM me or they're on ADV rider & F650 flea mkts..
As to locating them, it's easy because both are not only small but also weather resistant too. The switches are really neat in that at ~ 1/2" x 1" they use sticky backing to mount in anywhere with that size of a flat & have a powered third "control" wire plus LED red/green pushbutton for gloved operation. Hard to imagine a bike that doesn't have spot for this switch. The relays have a hanger/mtg tab that makes for easy hanging anywhere you can loop a cable tie and small slim shape vs. the boxy & sometimes poorly sealed AP store variety. I fabbed my brackets for G650GS using 1/4" x 1" alu bar stock ,two welds of bent ended tabs on longer bar that easily mts under upper fender. Need a vice,hammer,piece of box store metal,drilled holes and scissors to make a paper mock up before fabing brackets! Payed local guy to weld/$15 as I don't do alu..

"If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time...I'd relax,I'd limber up... I would take fewer things seriously...take more chances... take more trips...climb more mountains...swim more rivers...eat more ice cream." Jorge Luis Borges at age 85.